Resumen del episodio 10 de The Heir
> Resúmenes de The Heir
Luo Wenqian arrives at the grand Tian estate, once his childhood home Boyuan Garden, which was renamed Changsheng Garden after being stolen by Tian Huai'an. Standing outside, he is flooded with memories of his youth, recalling how his older brother, Luo Wensong, once stepped in to shield him from their father’s wrath when he refused to study in the capital.
His reverie is broken when Tian Huai'an and his son, Tian Benchang, warmly welcome him inside as Master Qi—using his alias, Qi Jiu—apologizing for not visiting his newly opened pawnshop, Yihousheng, to congratulate him first. During their conversation, Luo Wenqian offers a loaded compliment about the estate’s opulence, seemingly praising them as a premier ink-making dynasty.
However, he quickly shifts to a sharp provocation, questioning why his subordinate claimed only the Li and Chen families possessed a century-old heritage while the Tians were mere servants. Tian Huai'an quickly downplays the comment, humbly claiming the family business only achieved success under his own stewardship. When Tian Huai'an offers to send gifts to his household, Luo Wenqian cryptically replies that his family was tragically taken by villains years ago.
Attempting to probe further, Tian Benchang reveals he knows Luo Wenqian is a close confidant of General Qi and is in Huizhou to procure military supplies. Unfazed by their quick investigation of his background, Luo Wenqian remarks on the Tian family's formidable local influence and their aggressive tactics in buying up all the raw lacquer in Huizhou to monopolize the creation of the ancient lacquer-soot ink.
When the local County Magistrate, Zhao Shen, suddenly arrives, Luo Wenqian takes his leave, but the familiar greeting between Tian Huai'an and Zhao Shen confirms his suspicions of their deep collusion. Meanwhile, Li Zhen and her brother return home dejected, unable to buy raw lacquer due to the Tian family's monopoly.
Soon after, Seventh Grandmother visits to thank Li Zhen for stepping up at the official banquet to accept the challenge of recreating the lost ancient lacquer-soot ink, saving the Li family's reputation.
Knowing the stakes, Li Zhen negotiates firm terms: she will return to the Li Ink workshop to develop the ink, but she refuses to get involved in internal family politics, demands that Uncle Jingdong and Fourth Aunt Jiangyue be kept from causing trouble, and insists that her own Eighth Branch receive a fair share of the profits. Impressed by her maturity, Seventh Grandmother readily agrees.
To solve the lacquer shortage, Seventh Grandmother directs Li Zhen to Six Grandfather, Li Jinhe, who owns a suburban manor with a newly planted field of lacquer trees. Before giving her the supply, Six Grandfather decides to test her skills. He presents her with a heavily worn ancient ink stick with a faded inscription. Relying on her exceptional ability to identify ink through scent, Li Zhen notices its distinct fish-scale pattern, rich medicinal aroma, and subtle hint of lotus.
She correctly identifies it as the legendary "Longxiang" ink and recounts its historical origin involving Emperor Ming of Tang and the ink spirit, Longbin. Delighted by her profound knowledge, Six Grandfather writes her a slip to collect the lacquer from his daughter, Li Chunhua. Accompanied by her friend Hua'er, Li Zhen travels to the western suburban manor, where Li Chunhua lives with her husband, Li Decai, and their young son, Run'er.
While Chunhua is genuinely welcoming, Decai harbors a guilty secret: he had secretly promised five liters of their raw lacquer to Tian Benchang for a lucrative payout. With Six Grandfather's sudden order to give the entire supply to Li Zhen, Decai secretly dilutes the raw lacquer with water. However, Run'er accidentally knocks over the bucket, splashing the diluted liquid and exposing the deception.
Li Chunhua furiously confronts her husband, who breaks down and confesses his deal with the Tian family, resentfully complaining that Six Grandfather is giving away their hard work for free. Despite the family drama, Chunhua ensures Li Zhen receives the proper, high-quality raw lacquer. Li Zhen comforts the weeping young boy and thanks her aunt, promising to always be there to help if the family ever faces trouble.
With the raw lacquer secured, Li Zhen officially enters the Li Ink workshop to begin her work. She is met with immediate hostility and skepticism from the male artisans who mock the idea of a female ink-maker. Some deliberately work half-naked in the smoke sheds under the guise of the intense heat, but Li Zhen remains entirely unfazed, boldly calling out their hypocrisy regarding propriety and reputation until they reluctantly put their clothes back on.
The manager, Shao An, also attempts to sabotage her progress, repeatedly rejecting her material requisitions for minor technicalities and forcing her to rewrite the forms multiple times. Undeterred, Li Zhen throws herself into the grueling process inside the hot, cramped smoke shed, which soon causes her hands to break out in painful lacquer sores.
When she complains about Shao An's constant harassment at home, her grandfather calmly notes that Shao An's predictable behavior is actually a relief, as it means he hasn't changed. To speed up her slow progress, Li Zhen takes inspiration from her father's past method of burning over twenty lamps at once and decides to burn multiple soot lamps simultaneously to test her formulas faster.
Despite testing over two hundred combinations, the resulting lampblack is only mediocre, leaving the final ink dull and fragile. Her grandfather suggests that the raw lacquer and tung oil are failing to blend completely, advising her to experiment with various oil additives like soybean oil, sesame oil, tea seed oil, or animal fat to find a proper binder.
Searching through her father's ancient texts, Li Zhen finds a passage confirming that burning animal fat with lacquer residue yields an incredibly fine, deep black soot. She eagerly tests this method in the smoke shed, but while the resulting lampblack displays a beautiful iridescence, the mixture proves too oily, leaving the ink paste loose and difficult to mold. Throughout this arduous process, Luo Wenqian keeps a close eye on Li Zhen's progress.
To break the Tian family's monopoly and ease the market shortage, he requests his sworn sister, Wang Cuiqiao, to import a large batch of raw lacquer from the coastal regions. Later, Luo Wenqian visits the Li estate to see Seventh Grandmother. His presence there triggers a fond childhood memory of a young girl presenting him with a fish lantern and welcoming him as a friend.
